Mechanism for disengaging driving gears



R. W. KALTENBACH MECHANISM FOR DISENGAGING DRIVING GEARS Aug. 14, 1934 Filed Dec. 11, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 way 1934. R. w. KALTENBACH 1,970,174

MECHANISM FOR DISENGAGING DRIVING GEARS Filed Dec. 11, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 14, 1934 its srA-rss eaten-.-

MECHANISM LFOR' DISENGAGING DRIVING GEARS Robert Kalte'nbach, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Application December 11, 192'9, Seriail=No'.' 41 3,312 f 14 Claims.

This invention relates to mechanism for dis engaging driving gears, and for'causing them to "engage also. It is designed for use primarily in"rail cars'in"which a self-propelling power *plant is installed, as for instance locomotive cranes, pile other than their ownpower plants, as for instancewhen-befng hauled in a train, it is highly desirable to effect a'thorough disengagement of thedrivingmechanism so that no accidental reengagement can occur. The present invention is designed for that purpose.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of "a mechanism of this kindwhich' can'be readily and easilyoperated from a position at the side of the car, thereby avoiding the'necessity for the operator'to get beneath the car, that being a dangerous situation as well as an awkward and inconvenient one.

Another object is the provision of mechanism of this'ki'nd adapted to disengage from the car. axles and-their gears all other gears and shafts in thedriving'mechanism;

' A further object is theprovision of a mechanism inwhich the end'thrust of the propeller shaft gear is taken directlyinto the shaft? Anotherobject is the provfsion'of a means of this character so constructed that the meshing of the driving gears is unaifected by the amount.

A further object is the provision'of a locking device to hold the driving gears in mesh, this device being urged automatically toward .operative position when the gear shifting mechanism is swungtoward its idle'position, and being urged automatically toward inoperative position when the fastening mechanism is swung toward its operative position.

I Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with the description of that embodment'of the invention which, forythe' purposes of the present application, I have 11- lustrated in y the: accompanying drawings, in

drivers, and similar equipment; When cars of this sort are propelled by'means Figure '1 is a plan view; partly in horizontal section; showing oneembodiment of the invention.

; tries Fig. 2 is a front el'evati'onal view, certain'parts beingshown-in'vertical section, substantially on the line 2 -2 of Fig. 1, and

Fig.3 is a side elevational view of a fragment of the car fr'ameillu'strating a hanger for the operating shaft which'may'be employed in connection with the invention;

In the drawings, the'floor of a rail. car is illustrated at 10, being shown as. supported upon metal I-beams 11, 12"and 13 and upon a side bar 14 of the frame, these beams and thisflooringconstituting a "portion of the car body which in this case considerably'overhangs. the wheels 15 of the' car. A portion" only of ofthe car 'is illustrated herein.

a live axle 16 adapted'to be mounted 'insuitable bearings which have'been'iomitted from the drawings in-orderto'avoid confusing the illustration. The car wheels 15 are" secured to (the axle in any suitable'manner."

Loose uponthe axle '16 there are collars 17 and18 "WhlChCOllStitlltE part of'a bearing'support 19, having spaced bearings'20 and 21 therein for a section-'22'of the propeller. shaft; the exposed end of this section beingprovided witha keyway 23 or equivalent means for connection with another section 24 of. th'e'colla'r. shaft, 1 which in the presentinstance may be a universal The shaft 22' has a keyway. 25 therein, by

joint.

means 'of which the hubof a bevel gear 26 is slidably and non-rotatably connected with the shaft.

The gear 26 is adapted to mesh with a second bevel gear 27' fixed to the axle shaft 16. Inthe operation of the car under its own power, driving force is transmitted by the propeller shaft 22 through its gear 26 and the gear 27 to theaxle shaft 16 and its wheels 15.

. The forward'endof the bearing support 19 may be suspended from-the car frame .or body by hanger 28.- This hanger, as shown in Fig. .2, comprises a pair of parallel rockshafts '70 and '71 which are connected together by links '72.

When the forward end of shaft 22 is swung toone side or the other by the travel of .the car truck around a'curve; the links '72 swing about their pivotal connections with the rock shaft '70. Inasmuch'as there is a longitudinalas well as. a transverse movement produced by such-swinging of the propeller shaft, the rock'shafts "and '71 turn'to accommodate the necessary longitudinal movement.

In so' doing the vertical distance between the shafts '70 and '71 changes somewhat,

raising "or-lowering the shaft'22.

Similarly,

.one'truck It comprises when the car springs yield in response to inequalities in the track, so that the distance between the axle 16 and the car body changes, there is a tendency for the outer bearing of the propeller shaft to move longitudinally. The rock shafts 70 and '71 accordingly swing to provide such longitudinal movement. In so swinging the 'ertical distance between them again changes somewhat, raising or lowering the forward end of the propeller shaft. In both cases the horizontal movement as well as the vertical movement of the forward end of the propeller shaft is compensated for by universal joints and slip joints in the driving connections (not shown). When there is no horizontal movement however, either transversely or longitudinally, the forward end of the propeller shaft is held securely against direct vertical movement, inasmuch as the links 72 stand vertical and the rock shafts 70 and 71 are in vertical alignment, whereby vertical pressure has little tendency to swing the parts of the hanger either transversely or longitudinally. Hence the driving reaction between the gears 26 and 27 which is imposed upon the hanger in an almost vertical direction is absorbed, and this would not be the case were springs or other resilient connections substituted for the hanger described.

The hub of the gear 26 is threaded to form a screw 29 which receives a nut 30, the latter having at its rear edge a flange 31 carrying a gear 32. A thrust collar 33 is secured to shaft 22 by a pin 34. The periphery of this collar extends between the flange 31 and a ring 35 that is separated from the flange 31 by a spacer 36 and secured in position by bolts 3'7 extending through the flange, spacer and ring. The nut 30 therefore may turn upon the collar 33, but is held thereby against movement along its axis.

An inte ral extension 38 of the bearing support 19 carries a sleeve 39 in which is rotatably mounted a trunnion 40, a collar 41 being pinned to the upper end thereof to carry the weight of the trunnion and its associated parts. Fixed to the lower end of the trunnion 40 is a bearing sleeve 42 in which is rotatably mounted an operating shaft 43. On the inner end of this shaft I secure a bevel pinion 44adapted to mesh with the gear 32. This pinion by its engagement with one end of the bearing sleeve 42 prevents longitudinal movement of the shaft 43 in one direction, while a collar 45 pinned to the shaft on the opposite end of the bearing sleeve prevents movement of the shaft in the opposite direction. The trunnion bearing 39, is suitably inclined, as shown, in order to enable the shaft 43 to clear the bottom of the frame side member 14. It extends through a box-like hanger 46 that is adapted to support the outer end of the shaft and is large enough to permit considerable movement of the latter in the up and down and sidewise directions, whereby rocking movements of the car body are not transmitted to the shifter mechanism through the operating shaft 43. The hanger 46 on one side thereof is supplied with a threaded stud 47 which is adapted to extend through a hole in one or the other of two brackets 48 and 49 which are bolted or riveted to the bottom of the frame side member 14. The stud 47 may be caused to project through one or the other of these holes, after which a nut 50 is threaded onto the stud and against the bracket 43 or 49, as the case may be, thereby supporting and holding securely the hanger 46. The hanger has to be turned over, that is through 180, when it is removed from one bracket and secured to the other. The inoperative positions of the shaft 43 and hanger 46 are illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the position A of the end of the shaft being that which it takes in the normal operation of a car, that is to say when the latter is standing or travelling upon a straight track, while one of the positions B or C is assumed when the car is standing or travelling upon a track curved in one direction or the other. The outer end of the shaft 43 is squared to take a crank 51, by means of which the shaft may be rotated manually in either direction, thereby causing the pinion 44 to rotate the gear 32 and turn the nut 30, which causes the screw 29 and the gear 26 to travel longitudinally upon the shaft 22. End thrust upon the shaft 22 is taken by a thrust washer 52 arranged between the collar 33 and the bearing 21.

End thrust upon the gear 26 produces little or no tendency toward relative rotation between the screw 29 and nut 30, as this thrust must act along lines almost perpendicular to the threads of the screw and nut. However, when the car is being propelled under its own power, speed changes tend to cause such relative rotation. In starting, for instance, collar 33 tends to turn ahead of the gear 32, the latter possessing considerable inertia. Hence the screw 29 which is fixed with relation to the collar 33 tends to turn ahead of the nut 30. Upon slowing down or stopp'ng, inertia tends to keep gear 32 rotating at its previous speed, While the brakes on the car tend to slow down or stop the shaft 22, thereby tending to cause the nut 30 to turn upon the screw 29. I prevent such relative rotation by means which I will now describe. 53 is a locking sleeve slidably mounted upon the exterior surface of nut 30 and held against rotation by a key 54 working in a keyway formed in the sleeve. On the outer side of the sleeve 53 there is a peripheral groove 55 within which shifter shoes 56 ride, these shoes being pivotally mounted upon the forked ends of a shifter lever 57 which is pivoted upon a bracket 58 riveted to or integral with the bearing support 19. The sleeve 53 is provided on one end with teeth or projections 59 which are adapted to be received within slots of sockets 60 in the rear side of gear 26, the corresponding position of the sleeve being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Such engagement, of course, locks the screw and nut together against rotation. The shift lever 57 is operated through a connecting rod 61, slide 62 movable upon the rod, and coil springs 63 and 64 surrounding the rod and held under suitable tension thereupon by nuts and washers 65, 66 and 65, 66. The rod 61 is pivotally mounted at 67 between lugs extending laterally from the bearing sleeve 42.

Operation. Assuming that the gear 26 is in the operative position illustrated in Fig. 1, and that the locking sleeve 53 is in the operative or dotted line position of that figure, and that the operating shaft 43 is in the inoperative or dotted line position of the same figure, and assuming further that the operator desires to retract the gear 26 to inoperative position, he then proceeds as follows. The nut 50 is removed from the stud 47, the outer end of the shaft 43 is grasped and the shaft with its hanger 46 is swung upon the trunnion 40 into the full line position, causing the teeth of pinion 44 to mesh with the teeth of gear 32.

Should they at first fail to mesh-a slight rotation of .theyshaft 43; will enable them to do so.-. The hanger 46 :is.

.saidnutrotatably in-a;fixed;position 'axially,

theniturned over, that is through an angle of 180", the :studA? causedcto enter, the :hole'in 5 bracket 48,- ,and .the nut. 50 threaded-Ldown tosupport and hold the hanger rigidly-in posltion. The' 'movement of the, shaft 43-:inthedirectionindicated pushes rod 61 to the full line position,

causing spring 64 to push against slide 62, there-1 w; byv shifting'lever 5'? to the full-line. positionand pulling locking sleeve 53 out of engagement Wl-thn. Now the operator places-crank 51 upon the squared end gear26winto the full line:position.

ofshaft 43 and rotates the shaft in the proper :direction to turn nut 30 onto screw-29, thereby withdrawing gear 26 from engagement with gear 27. Thisrotation iscontinued as far aszpossible,

that .is:until-.the slots to engage with-the teeth 59, thereby, spacing the gears 26' and 27a con- ;:siderable distance apart, after which the shaft 43 is swung back to: its idle position, illustrated in; dotted lines in-Fig. 1, and fastened to-the- This swinging movement of the,

bracket 49. shaft pulls upon the rod/61. However, the sleeve .53 is'held against movement by the gearu26,

which is then in its retracted position.- The shift lever 57 is therefore also immovable, and

consequently this pull upon the rod 61 has no:

effect other than to compress the spring 63.

Now 'assuming that theoperator desires" toagain bring the gear 26 into mesh with the gear 27, he unfastens thehanger 46 from bracket 49 and swings the shaft 43 to the full line posi-' tion, securing it in that position as before ex- ;plained. This movement relieves the tension upon spring 63. The crank'5l is then placed upon the squared end of shaft 43 and'turnedrod 61, it may be remarked that their use isnot only necessary because of the inabi1ity-ofrthe sleeve '53 to slide forwardwhen the gear. 26.

the locking sleeve 53 and the gear 26' to insure their remaining in engagement while the car is travelling, and further in that it providesa re silient connection between the shaft is and the sleeve 53 which compensates for relative movements-produced by the relative movementsuof the.- axle 16 and the car body'when-the car. is .travellingaround a curve;

shaft43 and the lever 57 in fixed positions upon is retracted, but also this spring arrangement is: beneficial in that it sets up a pressure between The provision of pivotal mountings for. the

gears: carrying a screw rigidly connectedthe-res. with,- a nut for said screw, meansgforxmountmg;

means-for rotating said nutinxeither direction to.

cause axial movement of saidscrew,:and means operatively connectedwithzsaid rotatingzmeans. 7 for :locking'said nut against rotationirelative to: 1

said screw.

2. In-mechanism of the class: described, an

axle and a propeller shaft, gears on said axle" propeller shaft adapted to intermesh, one; of said gears carrying a screw rigidly connected 1 therewith, a nut for .said qscrew, means :for: mountingsaid nut rotatablyrin a fixed position I axially, means fol-rotating said. nut in either direction to cause axiallmovement of said screw,

. said last namedzmeanslcomprising an operating. shaft mounted to:move into and out ofopera tive position, and means automatically operated by. the movement of saidshaft foralocking said nut against rotation-relative to said screw.

3.. In mechanism of the class described, an axle and a propeller shaft, gears on said axle and propeller shaft adapted itOilZltGIlIlESh, one of said gears carrying :a screwrigidly. connected therewith, a nut forrasaid screw, means for mounting-said nut rotatably inafixed position axiallyya gear :carried'xby said nut, a pinion adapted to :mesh, 'wit'nflsaid last named gear, means for moving said pinion into and out of mesh with said gear, means .for rotating said 1 prising an axle and a propellershaft arranged at rightanglestoeachother, a bevel gear for said axle, a bevel gear-keyed tov slide on said propeller shaft adapted'ftdmesh with said axle gear, a screwcarried'by thehub'offsaid pro--- axially, a bearing support for said propeller shaft,

- a trunnion-in said-support, an operating shaft,

- peller shaft gear, -a nut for said screw, means for" mounting saidnutrotatably in aflxed position a bearing therefor carried by said trunnion, and

gears on said operatingshaft and nut adapted tomeshdn onecpositionof the operating-shaft,- whereby the rotationwof the operating shaft is adapted to move said propeller shaft gear towardor away from said axle gear.

f -Ina vehicle, ,abody, running gear com-- prising an axle, a propeller shaft arranged at right angles thereto, a bevel gear for said axle, a bevel gear keyed to slide on said propeller shaft adapted tov mesh with said axle gear-ya screw carried by the hub of said propeller shaft gear, a nut forsaidscrew, cans for mounting- .shaft, :a bearing therefor carried by said trunthe bearing support 19 insures perfect registra- I said nut rotatably inafixed position axially, a

nion, gears on saidoperating shaft and nut" adapted to meshin one position of the operating shaft; whereby the iotationof the operating shaft is adapted to move said'propeller shaft" a bevel gear keyed to slide on said propeller shaft adapted to mesh with said axle gear, a

-screw carried by the hub of said propeller shaft gear, a nut for said screw, means for mounting said nut rotatably in a fixed position axially, a bearing support for said propeller shaft, a trunnion mounted in said support, an operating shaft, a bearing therefor carried by said trunnion, gears on said operating shaft and nut adapted to mesh in one position of the operating shaft, whereby the rotation of the operating shaft is adaptable to move said propeller shaft gear toward or away from said axle gear, a locking sleeve keyed to slide upon said nut and adapted to move into locking engagement with said propeller shaft gear, and means operatively connected with said operating shaft tending to shift said locking sleeve to locking position when the operating shaft is swung to inoperative position, said last named means comprising a resilient element.

7. In mechanism of the class described, an axle and a propeller shaft, gears on said axle and propeller shaft adapted to intermesh, one of said gears being slidably keyed to its shaft and carrying a screw rigidly connected therewith, a nut for said screw, means for swivelly mounting said nut on said shaft in a fixed position axially, a gear carried by said nut, a pinion, means for moving said pinion into or out of mesh with said last named gear, and means for rotating said pinion.

8. In a vehicle, a body, a running gear comprising an axle and a propeller shaft, gears on said axle and propeller shaft adapted to intermesh, means for advancing and retracting one of said gears to and from intermeshing position,

.said last named means having a separable connection comprising a rotatable shaft extending outwardly to the edge of the vehicle body, a movable mounting for said shaft adapted to be moved by the shaft upon body movement thereof between positions of making or breaking said separable connection, and means for hanging the outer end of said shaft from the vehicle body in either operative or inoperative position.

9. In a vehicle, a body, a running gear comprising an axle and a propeller shaft, gears on said axle and propeller shaft adapted to intermesh, means for advancing and retracting one of said gears to and from intermeshing position, said last named means having a separable connection comprising a rotatable shaft extending outwardly to the edge of the vehicle body, a movable mounting for said shaft adapted to be moved by the shaft upon body movement thereof between positions of making or breaking said separable connection, and means for hanging the outer end of said shaft from the vehicle body in either operative or inoperative position, said hanging means for the inoperative position permitting movement of the shaft to compensate for the relative movement between the running gear and body.

10. In mechanism of the class described, an axle and a propeller shaft, gears on said axle and propeller shaft adapted to intermesh, one of said gears being slidably keyed to its shaft and carrying a screw rigidly connected therewith, a nut for said screw, means for mounting said nut rotatably in a fixed position axially, means for rotating said nut in either direction to cause axial movement of said screw, a locking member non-rotatably mounted upon the external surface of said nut, and means for moving the locking member into and out of locking engagement with said last mentioned gear.

11. In mechanism of the class described, an axle and a propeller shaft, gears on said axle and propeller shaft adapted to intermesh, one of said gears being slidably keyed to its shaft and carrying a screw rigidly connected therewith, a nut for said screw, means for mounting said nut rotatably in a fixed position axially, means for rotating said nut in either direction to cause axial movement of said screw, locking means permanently carried by said nut and shiftable axially thereupon, and means for shifting said last mentioned means into locking engagement with said gear, whereby the nut and last mentioned gear are held against relative rotation.

12. In mechanism of the class described, an axle and a propeller shaft, gears on said shafts adapted to intermesh, one of said gears being slidably keyed to its shaft and carrying a screw rigidly connected therewith, a nut for said screw, a collar fixed to the last named shaft, an annular tongue and groove rotatable connection between said collar and nut, and means for rotating said nut to move said slidable gear into and out of mesh with the other gear.

13. In mechanism of the class described, an axle and a propeller shaft, gears on said shafts adapted to intermesh, one of said gears being slidably keyed to its shaft and carrying a screw rigidly connected therewith, a nut for said screw, a collar fixed to the last named shaft, an annular tongue and groove rotatable connection between said collar and nut, a gear carried by said nut, a pinion, means for moving said pinion into and out of mesh with said last named gear, and means for rotating said pinion.

14. In mechanism of the class described,'an axle and a propeller shaft, a gear fixed upon said axle, a gear keyed to slide upon said propeller shaft and adapted to mesh with said axle gear, means for sliding said propeller shaft gear into and out of mesh with said axle gear, said last named means comprising a screw carried by said propeller shaft gear and a nut for said screw, said nut being swivelly connected with said propeller shaft, a gear on said nut, and a pinion movable into and out of mesh with said last named gear for rotating said nut relatively to the screw when the propeller shaft is stationary.

ROBERT W. KALTENBACH. 

